Albert Broccoli
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Albert Romolo Broccoli ( ; April 5, 1909 – June 27, 1996), nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career. Most of the films were made in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of
Danjaq Danjaq, LLC (formerly Danjaq S.A. and Danjaq, Inc.) is the holding company responsible for the copyright and trademarks to the characters, elements, and other material related to James Bond on screen. It is currently owned and managed by the fami ...
, LLC and
Eon Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started ...
, Broccoli is most notable as the producer of many of the ''James Bond'' films. He and
Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...
saw the films develop from relatively low-budget origins to large-budget, high-grossing extravaganzas, and Broccoli's heirs continue to produce new Bond films.


Early life

Broccoli was born in the borough of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the younger of two children of immigrants from the Calabria region of Italy, Giovanni Broccoli and Kristina Vence. He had an older brother. He acquired his nickname after his cousin, mobster
Pat DiCicco Pasquale "Pat" DiCicco (; February 14, 1909 – October 24, 1978) was an American agent, movie producer, and occasional actor, as well as an alleged mobster working for Lucky Luciano. He was married three times, including to Thelma Todd an ...
, began calling him "Kabibble", after a similarly named cartoon character. This was eventually shortened to "Kubbie" and adopted by Broccoli as "Cubby". The family later bought a farm in Smithtown, New York, on Long Island, near their relatives the DiCiccos. The family moved to
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, and on the death of his father Giovanni, Broccoli moved to live with his grandmother in Astoria,
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Having worked many jobs, including
casket A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes. ...
maker, Broccoli then became involved in the film industry. He started at the bottom, working as a
gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...
on
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
' ''
The Outlaw ''The Outlaw'' is a 1943 American Western film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jack Buetel, Jane Russell, Thomas Mitchell, and Walter Huston. Hughes also produced the film, while Howard Hawks served as an uncredited co-director. Th ...
'' (1941), which starred
Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...
. Here he met his lifelong friend
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in th ...
for the first time, while Hughes was overseeing the movie's production after director Howard Hawks was fired. Broccoli rose quickly to the level of assistant director by the time the U.S. entered World War II.


Ted Healy incident

Broccoli is alleged to have been involved in an altercation with comedian and
Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeare ...
creator
Ted Healy Ted Healy (born Charles Ernest Lee Nash; October 1, 1896 – December 21, 1937) was an American vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor. Though he is chiefly remembered as the creator of The Three Stooges and the style of slapstick comedy th ...
outside the Trocadero nightclub, just before the latter's death in 1937. A source alleged that actor
Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' ( ...
, Broccoli, and film producer
Pat DiCicco Pasquale "Pat" DiCicco (; February 14, 1909 – October 24, 1978) was an American agent, movie producer, and occasional actor, as well as an alleged mobster working for Lucky Luciano. He was married three times, including to Thelma Todd an ...
beat Healy so badly that he fell into a coma and died. There is no documentation in contemporaneous news reports that either Beery or DiCicco was present, allegedly because the investigation and any subsequent newspaper coverage would be routinely sidelined by the
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
studio fixers,
Eddie Mannix Joseph Edgar Allen John Mannix (February 25, 1891 – August 30, 1963) was an American film studio executive and producer. He is remembered for his work as a " fixer", who was paid to cover up Hollywood stars' often colorful private lives to pro ...
and
Howard Strickling Howard Strickling (September 25, 1896 – July 16, 1982) served as head of publicity for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures from the late 1920s into the late 1960s. Biography He was born in West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalach ...
(Mannix would later become a producer and executive for MGM), since Wallace Beery was one of MGM's most highly-paid and important actors. Beery was immediately dispatched to a long vacation in Europe until the story died down. Broccoli admitted that he was indeed involved in a fist fight with Healy at the Trocadero. He later modified his story, stating that a heavily intoxicated Healy had picked a fight with him, the two had briefly scuffled, then shook hands and parted ways. In other reports, Broccoli admitted to pushing Healy, but not striking him. There is disagreement over whether Healy died as a result of the brawl or due to his well-known alcoholism. Because of the authorities' lack of interest in investigating Healy's death, an autopsy was not performed until after Healy's body had been embalmed, rendering the examiner's note that Healy's organs were "soaked in alcohol" useless in determining a cause of death. Following the autopsy, the Los Angeles county coroner reported that Healy died of acute toxic nephritis secondary to acute and chronic
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
. Police closed their investigation, as there was no indication in the report that his death was caused by physical assault.


UK subsidy and the origins of Bond

At the beginning of the 1950s, Broccoli moved once more, this time to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where the British government provided subsidies to film productions made in the UK with British casts and crews. Together with
Irving Allen Irving Allen (born Irving Applebaum, November 24, 1905 – December 17, 1987) was a theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He received an Academy Award in 1948 for producing the short movie ''Climbing the Matterhorn''. In the early 19 ...
, Broccoli formed
Warwick Films Warwick Films was a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in London.Broccoli, Albert R., Zec Donald. ''When the Snow Melts''. Boxtree. 1998 Their f ...
, which made a prolific and successful series of films for
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
. When Broccoli became interested in bringing Ian Fleming's
James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
character into features, he discovered that the rights already belonged to the Canadian producer
Harry Saltzman Herschel Saltzman (; – ), known as Harry Saltzman, was a Canadian theatre and film producer. He is best remembered for co-producing the first nine of the ''James Bond'' film series with Albert R. Broccoli. He lived most of his life in Den ...
, who had long wanted to break into film, and who had produced several stage plays and films with only modest success. When the two were introduced by a common friend, screenwriter
Wolf Mankowitz Cyril Wolf Mankowitz (7 November 1924 – 20 May 1998) was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter. He is particularly known for three novels— '' Make Me an Offer'' (1952), '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953) and ''My Old Man's a Dustm ...
, Saltzman refused to sell the rights, but agreed to partner with Broccoli and co-produce the films, which led to the creation of the production company
EON Productions Eon Productions Ltd. is a British film production company that primarily produces the ''James Bond'' film series. The company is based in London's Piccadilly and also operates from Pinewood Studios in the UK. ''Bond'' films Eon was started ...
and its parent (holding) company Danjaq, LLC, named after their two wives' first names—Dana and Jacqueline. Saltzman and Broccoli produced the first Bond film, '' Dr. No'', in 1962. Their second, '' From Russia with Love'', was a break-out success and from then on the films grew in cost, action, and ambition. With larger casts, more difficult stunts and special effects, and a continued dependence on exotic locations, the franchise became essentially a full-time job. Broccoli made one notable attempt at a non-Bond film, an adaptation of Ian Fleming's ''
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang ''Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' is a children's novel written by Ian Fleming for his son Caspar, with illustrations by John Burningham. It was initially published in three volumes, the first of which was released on 22 October 19 ...
'' in 1968, and due to legal wrangling over the rights to story elements, ceded producer credit on '' Thunderball'' to
Kevin McClory Kevin O'Donovan McClory (8 June 1924 – 20 November 2006) was an Irish screenwriter, film producer, and film director. McClory was best known for producing the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' and for his legal battles with the character's cre ...
. Nonetheless, by the mid-1960s, Broccoli had put nearly all of his energies into the Bond series. Saltzman's interests continued to range apart from the series, including production of a loose trilogy of spy films based on
Len Deighton Leonard Cyril Deighton (; born 18 February 1929) is a British author. His publications have included cookery books, history and military history, but he is best known for his spy novels. After completing his national service in the Royal Air Fo ...
's Harry Palmer, a character who operates in a parallel universe to Bond, with all the danger but none of the glamour and gadgets. Saltzman and Broccoli had differences over Saltzman's outside commitments; however, in the end, it was Saltzman who withdrew from Danjaq and EON after a series of financial mishaps. While Saltzman's departure brought the franchise a step closer to corporate control, Broccoli lost relatively little independence or prestige in the bargain. From then until his death, the racy credits sequence to every EON Bond film would begin with the words "Albert R. Broccoli Presents." However, from the 1970s onward, the films became lighter in tone and looser in plot—and, at times, less successful with critics—yet, the series distinguished itself in production values and continued to appeal to audiences. In 1966, Broccoli was in Japan with other producers scouting locations to film the next James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice''. He had a ticket booked on
BOAC Flight 911 BOAC Flight 911 (call sign "Speedbird 911") was a round-the-world flight operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) that crashed near Mount Fuji in Japan on 5 March 1966, with the loss of all 113 passengers and 11 crew members ...
and cancelled his ticket on that day so he could see a ninja demonstration. Flight 911 crashed after
clear-air turbulence In meteorology, clear-air turbulence (CAT) is the turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual clues, such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet. The atmospheric region most suscept ...
.


Family life

Broccoli married three times. In 1940, at the age of 31, he married actress
Gloria Blondell Gloria Blondell (August 16, 1915 – March 25, 1986) was a stage, film, and television actress who was the younger sister of actress Joan Blondell. Family She was born into a vaudeville family. Her parents and siblings, Edward Jr. and Joan, wer ...
, the younger sister of
Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...
. They later divorced amicably in 1945 without having had children. In 1951, he married Nedra Clark, widow of the singer
Buddy Clark Buddy Clark (born Samuel Goldberg, July 26, 1912 – October 1, 1949) was an American popular singer of the Big Band era. He had some success in the 1930s, but his career truly blossomed in the late 1940s, after his return from service in Worl ...
, and the couple were told they had fertility problems and would never have children. They adopted a son, Tony Broccoli, after which Nedra became pregnant. She died in 1958, soon after giving birth to their daughter, Tina. In 1959, Broccoli married actress and novelist Dana Natol. They had a daughter,
Barbara Broccoli Barbara Dana Broccoli (born June 18, 1960) is an American film and stage producer, best known internationally for her work on the ''James Bond'' film series. With her half-brother Michael G. Wilson, Broccoli controls the ''James Bond'' film fr ...
, and Natol adopted his other two children. Albert Broccoli became a mentor to Dana's teenage son,
Michael G. Wilson Michael Gregg Wilson, (born January 21, 1942) is an American-British screenwriter and film producer, best known for his association with the ''James Bond'' film series. Background Wilson was born in New York City, the son of Dana (née Na ...
. The children grew up around the Bond film sets, and his wife's influence on various production decisions is alluded to in many informal accounts. Michael Wilson worked his way up through the production company to co-write and co-produce. Barbara Broccoli, in her turn, served in several capacities under her father's tutelage from the 1980s on. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have co-produced the films since Albert Broccoli's death.


Later life and honors

* In 1981 he was honored with the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award for his work in film. The award was presented at the 1982
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
ceremony by the current James Bond at that time, Roger Moore. In 1990, Broccoli also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (as Cubby Broccoli). * A
thoroughbred horse racing Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
enthusiast, Albert Broccoli owned Brocco, who won the 1993
Breeders' Cup Juvenile The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually in late October or early November at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup W ...
at
Santa Anita Park Santa Anita Park is a Thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent horse racing events in the United States during early fall, winter and in spring. The track is home to numerous prestigious races ...
at Arcadia, California. * An autobiography was published posthumously in 1999, entitled ''When the Snow Melts: The Autobiography of Cubby Broccoli'' (). * The end of ''
Tomorrow Never Dies ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' is a 1997 spy film, the eighteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions and the second to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode from a screenplay ...
'' (1997) displays the dedication "In loving memory of Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli". * The Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre is one of three situated in the
University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...
's
School of Cinematic Arts The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
Complex, completed in 2010.


Death

Broccoli died at his home in
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
in 1996 at the age of 87 of heart failure. He had undergone a triple heart bypass earlier that year. He was interred in an ornate sarcophagus in the outdoor Courts of Remembrance section, at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
following a funeral mass at The Church of the Good Shepherd, Beverly Hills. In recognition of Broccoli's insistence that every James Bond film produced by EON should bear the name of the character's creator, Ian Fleming, in the opening credits (even when the film contained no real connection to any Fleming novel, apart from the titular character), it was decided by his surviving family that all subsequent Bond films should bear Broccoli's name. Therefore, all Bond films since ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' have opened with the line "Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions presents".


Filmography


Producer with Harry Saltzman

* '' Dr. No'' (1962) * '' From Russia with Love'' (1963) * '' Goldfinger'' (1964) * '' You Only Live Twice'' (1967) * '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' (1969) * '' Diamonds are Forever'' (1971) * '' Live and Let Die'' (1973) * '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974)


Executive producer with Harry Saltzman

* '' Thunderball'' (1965) (produced by
Kevin McClory Kevin O'Donovan McClory (8 June 1924 – 20 November 2006) was an Irish screenwriter, film producer, and film director. McClory was best known for producing the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' and for his legal battles with the character's cre ...
)


Producer (solo)

* ''
The Red Beret ''The Red Beret'' (aka ''The Red Devils'', ''The Big Jump'' and retitled ''Paratrooper'' for the US release) is a 1953 British-American war film directed by Terence Young and starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. ''The Red Beret'' is ...
'' (1953) * '' Fire Down Below'' (1957) * '' The Trials of Oscar Wilde'' (1960) * ''
Jazz Boat ''Jazz Boat'' is a 1960 British musical comedy film directed by Ken Hughes and starring Anthony Newley, Anne Aubrey, Lionel Jeffries and big band leader Ted Heath and his orchestra. Many of the cast and the same director then made ''In the Ni ...
'' (1960) * ''
Call Me Bwana ''Call Me Bwana'' is a 1963 British Technicolor farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg and directed by Gordon Douglas. Largely set in Africa, it was the only film made by Eon Productions not about the fictional MI6 agent James Bond un ...
'' (1963) * '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968) * '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977) * '' Moonraker'' (1979) * '' For Your Eyes Only'' (1981) * ''
Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the MI6 agent James Bond. It was directed by John Glen and the screenplay was written by G ...
'' (1983)


Producer with Michael G. Wilson

* ''
A View to a Kill ''A View to a Kill'' is a 1985 spy film and the fourteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and is the seventh and final appearance of Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Although the title is adapted ...
'' (1985) * ''
The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...
'' (1987) * ''
Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond. It sees Bond suspended from MI6 as he pursues t ...
'' (1989)


Consulting producer

* ''
GoldenEye ''GoldenEye'' is a 1995 spy film, the seventeenth in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the se ...
'' (1995) (credited as presenter)


Cameos

* '' Fire Down Below'' (1957) – Drug smuggler * '' Moonraker'' (1979) – Tourist in
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
with wife Dana Broccoli


See also

* Ian Fleming * James Bond (character)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Broccoli, Albert R. 1909 births 1996 deaths American people of Italian descent American racehorse owners and breeders BAFTA winners (people) Broccoli family Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Film producers from New York (state) James Bond People from Queens, New York People from Smithtown, New York